Zack Martin has done his part and more.

Cowboys should definitely not re-do everyone's deal when it gets outdated. This isn't everyone. This is Zack freaking Martin.

This has been on my mind for a few days, and I finally decided to take an hour or so to put these thoughts on paper, especially for those of you who are interested in the ongoing stalemate between Zack Martin and the Dallas Cowboys concerning the final two years of his contract.

However, before delving too deep into my thoughts, let's first hear what Jerry Jones had to say on Saturday on the practice field. When asked about what needs to be done to reach a resolution on this hold-out with their star lineman:

“Nothing. He will come to camp when he will come to camp. There's no resolution. There's a lot of consequences if he doesn't and we all know what those are. He's a great player. Had a great career has been at the top of the money all the way through. Drafted high, got a lot of money, got a lot of money over the years. It's just hard to get it all.”

“And so the bottom line is that nothing needs to happen.”

He was then asked, “Is there a precedent you don't want to set when it comes to the reason the guys pay late in a long term contract?”

Jerry responded, “It's not about precedent, it's about facts. We need the money to pay Parsons. We need the money to pay the players that we got to pay in the future. It's a fact, it's not even a philosophy. It's just a fact those dollars are there and we have this at this level. And if you redid all the contracts and you never could put a roster together.”

Did he really say, “if you redid all the contracts”???

Yes. Yes, he did.

This is textbook “Jerry being Jerry” stuff.

Now, one of the things about this industry that is amazing to me is how often fans quickly side with the teams on contract issues in the NFL. I guess it is hard to relate to the superstar NFL player, so in reaction, many folks seem more comfortable siding with the billionaires who own the teams. Not sure why that is, but maybe it is age or possibly our own desires to own our own businesses. Surely, I am not immune to the idea of if I raise one kid’s allowance, then the other kids are going to hear about it and come charging right at me for their raises, too. At that point, I can either tell them to take a hike or I can succumb to the pressure from inmates in my asylum.

I have heard it all as people want players to honor their contracts and that he has been paid a lot of money over the years. Yes, in a vacuum, we do want people to honor their contracts and he has been paid a lot.

But, he has earned it. All of it. And then some.

Let’s take a quick look at reality here.

Martin was drafted in 2014 in the famous draft night where we were told “Stephen pulled the Johnny Manziel card out of Jerry’s hands” story.

Martin as a rookie was named 1st team All-Pro team at right guard — remember this is All-Pro, not Pro Bowl. There 10 to 12 guards at every Pro Bowl, only one right guard is named to the All-Pro team — Zach Martin was the NFL’s best in 2014.

In 2015, he regressed to second best, and was named all-pro second team.

2016? Frist team All-Pro.

2017? Second team All-Pro

2018 was also first team. Also, 2019, 2021, and 2022. He was the best right guard in the entire league, this is an indisputable fact.

The one missing year was the 2020 debacle where he was part of a disastrous Cowboys season. He started eight games at right guard and ten games overall before he was lost for the year to a Thanksgiving injury. That is the only season he didn’t make an All-Pro team.

Nine years in the league, eight All-Pro teams. Of those, he was at the very top of his profession six of those eight healthy years. And yes, he has been healthy almost the entire time. When he wasn’t, he still kept playing if he could and at a very high level.

In turn, he has been well compensated. In June of 2018, he signed a very large extension that was for six years and $84 million, with $32 million of that guaranteed and $40 million virtually guaranteed. Now $14 million a year is a very healthy AAV in 2018 and the length of the contract was a rarity, but the Cowboys loved to tack on years to allow wiggle room in restructuring and Martin has been restructured annually.

This is where people get lost in the numbers. So I want to walk you through this little exercise. If you follow many sports, like I do, you know that MLB, NHL, and NBA contracts are guaranteed deals. Jamie Benn, Luka Doncic, and Corey Seager will never have to worry about whether their health or performance could cost them the remainder of their money after two or four years of their deal.

But, this is football, where contracts go until the guarantees end. Ezekiel Elliott sure did. After getting about $20 million from his rookie contract, he then signed a $90 million extension with $50 million guaranteed. Funny thing about that, though, is that his career earnings today are only $70 million (and he remains unemployed), instead of the $110 million it appeared he had signed for.

Did the Cowboys honor the deal? Yes, they paid him his guarantees and then told him to pound sand when they were done with the guaranteed part because his play had declined.

Ask Jaylon Smith about that, too. And countless others across the league.

The NFL could do what the other sports do and guarantee deals. After all, it is easily the most dangerous of the four sports and players risk their bodies for short careers.

Why don’t the owners do that?

Well, its the same reason they have essentially banned holdouts and created a cap in the first place; because they can.

They have fixed the system to have it their way and not have to pay out deals to players who can no longer do the job – once the guarantees run out.

Now Martin sits as the 33rd-highest paid offensive lineman and the 8th-highest paid guard. His guaranteed money expired more than two years ago (even though the restructures have continued). It is possible that no player in this league has ever out-performed a deal like he has as an unprecedented fixture on the All-Pro list.

He is an automatic Hall of Famer and an automatic Ring of Honor Cowboy. He has never done a thing but perform at an extremely elite level.

Jerry is right. If you start re-doing everyone’s deal, you would be in a load of hurt.

But, this isn’t everyone. This is Zack Freaking Martin. He is one of a kind and if he wants to be made whole, I say you make this a special exemption.

If anyone else has made eight All-Pro teams in nine years, we can discuss their case. I am not saying to give him a blank check, but I am saying that he is getting to the age where he wonders if you might be making plans to get rid of him. Tack on a year or two, get his AAV up over $18 million and let’s get on with this year.

This is not Tyron Smith in physical decline here. This is not a player where it is “always something” and you are tired of dealing with his antics. This is a model player with a model career. If you need to update his deal to make him feel appreciated with the cap sky-rocketing, it would actually be positive to let the other players know that this is how you should treat a legend. Especially when he has never made a peep and hit his ceiling several times over in his career.

Of course, you don’t re-do all the contracts. But common sense says you make exceptions in a world where deals are not fully guaranteed. Kansas City will re-do Patrick Mahomes before his deal expires in 2031, too. You know why? Because you would be nuts not to do that for those rare cases. This is that case for the Cowboys.

Josh Ball, a fringe roster piece, played right guard today as he was in the place of Martin. I wouldn’t advise that in Week 1 vs the Giants impressive front.

In other words, I side with Martin on this one. Big time.